6 November 2012

I am thankful for. . .

Our Church Leaders

I am so grateful for the service that is and has been given to us by all of our church leaders. Many of them give countless hours of service to our church for no compensation whatsoever! The things that they have accomplished collectively, as well as individually have been a blessing in my life. I am so grateful to know that there are still people out there that are willing to give so much of themselves and expect nothing in return. 

5 November 2012

I am thankful for. . .

Tithing

The principle of tithing has been a major blessing in my life. The Lord asks that we give Him 10% of our income; if you think about it that really isn't a lot of money and He has promised to bless us exponentially! As I have been away at school, I have had the ability to see this principle in action. I have seen how much I make each check and what my bills are and I am amazed at how I am able to skate by. Things at the grocery store will be on sale; utilities will not cost as much as I had planned, etc. The list goes on! If you think about it, the Lord is the one that has given us everything; is it really that hard for us to give Him back 10%? 

4 November 2012

I'm thankful for. . . .

Stake Conference

I find that I absolutely LOVE Stake Conference; I was able to attend Stake Conference with Jacey, Nic, Sidney, and Dan today. It was so awesome, even though it was in a Married ward, many of the things were/are still applicable in my life as well as many of yours. Enjoy the notes!

Talk #1

Take an inventory of your life and look at all the blessings that we have been given. 

     Read Henry B. Eyrings talk "Oh remember, remember!"

     Pray; thank the Lord for all that He has bestowed upon you. 

     Attend the temple regularly; it will bless your life in so many ways.

     Listen to the prophets words; do all that He asks of us.

Talk #2

Temple attendance can bring about so many blessings/ It will improve your relationships with others and God, help you become more spiritually powerful, and life will feel more manageable. Make temple attendance a priority. 

Talk #3

Every person makes mistakes; especially parenting mistakes. If you hold regular Family Home Evenings not one of your children will 100% go astray from the Gospel. Start now by gathering things for Family Home Evening, be it lessons, games, or treat ideas; make the commitment now to hold Family Home Evening regularly. They do not need to be long or elaborate. It will bring you many blessings; angels will visit your home. 

Talk #4

There are some moral absolutes, one being change! The Lord does not want us to be the same as we were one year ago. We should constantly be growing spiritually. 

By renewing our baptismal covenants by partaking of the Sacrament, we are not taking Christ's name upon us, but rather that we are willing to take His name upon us. We can only take Christ's name upon us in the temple; by participating in temple ordinances. You will find that you are converted to the church by attending the temple. You will change so much by attending the temple regularly. 

Talk #5

There is no such thing as individual exaltation; family is the basics of the church. You will not be exalted without your spouse. The husband is to preside over the family; lovingly guide their families. They will not dictate or have their vote be more than his wife. He will bring the family together for Family Home Evenings, family prayer, or family/spouse scripture study. You can have a celestial marriage by doing the following:

1. "I will make it work" attitude. The couples who divorce, usually have the same problems as those who stay together because they are committed to one another. They are willing to work out their differences and not run from one another. 
2. "Is it I?" principle--are some of the problems in your relationship your spouses fault or your fault? Are you willing to make the changes necessary for your marriage to work? 
3. Morning and evening prayers with your spouse are important. Many couples will not have problems participating in evening prayers with their spouse, it is usually the prayer in the morning. If you make the commitment to prayer every morning and evening with your spouse, you will find that your days will improve. 
4. Make your spouse happy. In a recently taken survey, it was found that they number one thing that made a wife happy was when her husband helped out with the household chores. Do not stop holding hands after you are married, and never be afraid to tell your spouse how much you love them! Do not love "things" more than your spouse. We make a commitment to be loyal to our spouses; pornography is not only toxic waste to our spirituality but it is also being unfaithful to your spouse. Do not participate in this activity. 
5. There must be NO secrets between spouses. If there are, you will find that they will come to bite you when you least expect them to!
6. Do not put off having children because of money or education. You will find that the Lord will bless you with the ability to finish school or have enough money to support a family when you do begin to have children. 
7. Live without debt--stay away from it. You will find that debt will cause many problems in a marriage.
8. Study the scriptures individually and  collectively with your spouse. Study the scriptures on the days that you want to eat (so everyday naturally). Stick to the scriptures; feast upon them and they will tell you all that you need to do.
9. Speak kind works and in kind tones to one another; tell your wife she is beautiful--tell your husband he is handsome. 
10. Be sealed in the temple to one another. It is impossible to have a celestial marriage upon this Earth if you have not been sealed together in the temple for time and all eternity. 

That last talk was obviously geared towards married people, however they are applicable to our dating lives. Keep these in mind and work on the things you know you are having a hard time with--this will help you be one step closer when you do find your eternal companion. 

3 November 2012

I am thankful for...

 Missionary Effort/Work

I am so thankful to those that have chosen to dedicate their time to furthering the Lord's work (nothing against those of us that have not served missions). Some have postponed receiving or finishing their education so that they may spread the Gospel; they are leaving behind worldly things, families, and friends. Many that will come home will have changed so much; they will be better employees, students, sons/daughters, friends, future spouses, and parents. They will find that many of their loved ones will have grown up, however not much will have changed. 

There are currently 58,000 missionaries out there serving the Lord; many more will be joining their ranks due to the age change (boys may now leave at 18 and girls can leave at 19). I have many friends and family members that are out there serving missions right now, and I would like to thank Elder Zach Dustin, Elder Jeremy Brock, Elder Ryan Honey, Elder Jaromy Holland, Elder Jordan Kofurd, Elder John Gillis. I also want to thank those that have already served missions; your service to the Lord will not and has not gone unnoticed. For those of you that are working on your papers or are waiting for them, thank you for being worthy to serve and being willing to "put your life on hold" so to speak, you will find it worth it. Your families will be so blessed while you are serving. 

I always used to get upset when someone would say that missions are hard, and for some it will be their undoing. However, as I began to think about it they are right. Of course I have never served a mission, but I always love hearing mission stories (they fascinate me). If you decide to serve a mission, you will have the mantle of the Lord placed upon you. He will help you do things you would think are impossible, and only through Him are they made possible. You will meet people from all walks of life, be they investigators, members of the ward you are serving, or your companion. You will get to see people come to the knowledge of the Gospel and all it has to offer. It will be incredible. 

The one thing we must all remember though is that missionary work does not end when your mission does; rather it is only the beginning. "Every member a missionary!" We can all further the Lords work by sharing the Gospel with friends, acquaintances, and even complete strangers. We don't need to serve a mission in order to further the work. Strive to lead a Christlike life; live your life so that others want to know why you are different, so that they will want to have that for themselves. You will be surprised just how many people really are watching you!

1 and 2 November 2012

I am so grateful for the Gospel and all that it has done for me. I had the luck of basically being born into a family that was a part of the church. My mother found out she was pregnant with me shortly after her 20th birthday. As soon as she found out, she realized that if she wanted to provide a good life for me that she needed to make some changes in her life. She prayed and prayed to Heavenly Father that He might help her in raising this child all by herself.

Fast-forward a few years. . .

My mother met the her husband in Biology 100 at UAA in Anchorage, Alaska. He was the one that was able to share the Gospel with my mother and therefore myself as well (I was like 2 when this happened). She went through the discussions and found that she did in fact believe that Joseph Smith did restore the gospel to this Earth after praying to Heavenly Father. She became baptized into the church and shortly thereafter she married my dad.

I learned through my Dad's example that church was important. When I was little my Dad was very prone to migraines (he still is), however I remember him getting us up for 9 AM church every Sunday morning. Even though he didn't feel good, he knew that we needed to be at church. Later, when I was deciding whether to be baptized I remember my Dad telling me that I was making a commitment to my Heavenly Father by joining His church. If I chose to become baptized I was making the commitment to be a good Latter-day Saint; that I would from then on be a representative of Christ.

I am so grateful that I chose to do so. I have the sure knowledge that Christ did die for all of us on the cross and that He did in fact rise again on the third morning. I know that even though God's church was not on the Earth after the Apostasy, it was in fact restored by Joseph Smith. I know that if I do everything that I am asked to by my Heavenly Father; if I do not shirk on my duties, that I will have eternal life with the companion of MY choosing. These things I know, as well as many more because of I made the decision as an 8 year old child to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have never regretted making that decision, nor will I ever do so.